Tales from the Basement
by the Raven of Roses
Summary: random oneshot stories about nny and annie. sort of sequels to along came a french girl and gone the way of my sanity. enjoy. ch9: annie teaches nny about the value of a good vocabulary
1. Bedtime Story

3-14-05

Bedtime Story

(Mini disclaimer of DOOM. I do not own JTHM or any affiliated thingies, and anything read from books by Edward Gorey are his, and only his. No sue me, please.)

"I can read perfectly fine, you know."

"I'm aware of that, but parents are supposed to do this kind of stuff."

"Mon Dieu, Nny. I am not a child!"

"Technically, you ARE a minor."

"I'm a TEENAGER, Nny."

"Just humor me. Fourteen is still a child, no matter how you look at it."

"Fine, fine, just read already. I have to go to skool tomorrow."

"Alright. Thank you."

Nny opened the worn cover of a small book. It was by one of his favorite authors, a man by the name of Edward Gorey. Annette sighed in exasperation at the seemingly-infantile nature of the text, but soon her eyes were wide in shock.

"The way the others chose to go has been obscured by drifted snow..." Nny paused to enjoy his...daughter's reaction. She was grinning like a madwoman at the picture of a small group of people half-covered in snow.

Later, another passage made Annette cackle.

"The monuments above the dead are too eroded to be read."

She was enjoying it. This gave Nny a surprisingly warm kind of reaction. Since his return from prison, he had been trying to make more of an effort in the parental spectrum. Rarely had he been met with this kind of reaction. Usually it was nothing more than a polite giggle or a disinterested sigh. Perhaps Gorey would be a common interest between them.

"What was your favorite part, Annie?" Nny asked as nicely as he could once he had finished the book.

"I liked the part about the baby," she giggled back. "'The infant dead beside the path escaped the orphanage's wrath.' That was just lovely."

"Really? I suppose it would be..."

"Well, yes. The idea of this poor child who has died of hypothermia being lucky to get out of the orphanage it was raised in. It's a twisted, beautiful notion, really."

"I'm glad you think of it that way."

"This must have scared the hell out of 1940's America," sighed the girl longingly. "I would have loved to be around to see their faces when they read this..."

"You too?" Nny allowed himself a small grin.

Annette hugged her ragdolls tightly. A length of bandages on her wrist had come undone, a souvenir of the spat she'd had with one of the "guests" earlier. Nny reached out and retied it, being careful not to cut off circulation. Tourniquets were more his style, but it wouldn't do to have Annie be deprived of an appendage.

"Nny, you don't have to assist me-"

"It's a lot harder to tie it yourself. There. Better?"

"Yes...but do stop treating me like a child."

"I can't promise anything." A glance at Annette. "I will try, though."

"Merci."

"De rien."

"We need to work on your accent."

"You need to work on yours, too."

"Shut up, Nny."

"Want to go kill something?"

"Eh, why not? It's not like I really care much about skool anyway."

"There's a football kid in room Six you might have fun with."

"Oh, jocks. They are so penible."

"Yes. That one was irritating a group of elderly women outside of a church. I decided that he should be reprimanded. The more amusing weaponry is in room eight."

"I know. Meet you there in five; I have to change into my play clothes."

"Good girl."

Nny darted out of the room, leaving Annette to herself. She locked the door, crossed to her dresser, and slipped on the tattered shirt and jeans that she had used for years when working in the basement. Her long black gloves and old combat boots protected her extremities from both the cold and the gore, and a quick ponytail kept her wild hair out of her eyes. Perfect vision was a must when working around lethal equipment.

Just what had done this to her? Was it the house, so filled with death and terror? Perhaps it was even Nny himself, the madman in the mad house. More than likely it was her own choices and the path that she had chosen. If she had wanted, she could have let the court place her in a foster home and be rid of her old life once and for all.

Annette giggled. Like she'd ever do that. She put on her headphones, turned on Beethoven full blast, and skipped to the basement. She wouldn't be leaving any time soon.

After all, family had to stick together.


	2. Another Breakfast

3-14-05

"Annie, get up! You'll be late for skool!"

Annette cracked open one eyelid. No sunlight at all was coming in through the open window. It must have been five a.m. or earlier. Time to sleep, not for skool.

"ANNIE!"

"Fine, fine, I'm getting up...mon dieu, Nny...it's still dark out..."

"Nny? Annie, wake up. It's Devi, remember? Nny's been in prison for six months."

"What? Oh..." A small sigh. "My apologies, mon amie. I became confused upon waking..."

"It's okay, kid, just get up and eat something."

Annie sat up and stretched. The thin fabric of her nightclothes did little to block out the April chill of early morning. She shivered and fumbled for the warm kimono that lay nearby. Devi handed it to her with a strange look on her face. Annette was probably mistaken, but it might have been fondness.

"Come on, Annie. Toni will be here at six."

"I'm coming..."

Annette smoothed back her hair, amazed as she was every morning with how alarmingly matted her rapidly-lengthening locks could get. The blue streaks she'd put in a month before were starting to fade, giving her the look of having natural highlights. Natural blue highlights. Now THERE was a laugh. Ah well. Stranger things had happened-including Tenna's recent hair dyeing disaster that everyone now referred to as "The Great Pink Incident."

"Kari's making pancakes. That okay with you?"

"What? Oh, yes, of course. I suppose she's going crazy with the vanilla again?"

"Probably. It reeked near the fireplace."

"I wonder if that stuff is flammable?"

"I wouldn't be surprised to hear a large explosion several minutes from now."

Annette smiled. Karasu, too had a few mishaps. They'd just had their hearth reconstructed after "The Cinnamon explosion." Who could have known that stuff was like gunpowder?

Annette caught sight of a painting in the corner farthest from the fireplace. It was a strikingly accurate portrait of Nny, complete with a dagger in his right hand. Devi had managed to capture the skeletal look of the man without making him look ridiculous. That in itself had been a feat. The sight of her adoptive father's portrait gave Annette a small pause, an almost imperceptible faltering in her good mood.

"Hey, Devi?"

"Yeah?"

Annette looked away. "Why didn't it work out between you two?"

"What are you-"

"I mean, you and Nny are perfect for each other-"

"Whoa. Just-just WAIT. What the hell are you talking about? HE TRIED TO KILL ME, IF YOUR MEMORY HAS FAILED YOU.There's NO way in HELL I'd get together with him after what he did-"

"That was YEARS ago, Devi. Can't you just let-"

"No." Devi's scowl softened as she took in Annette's dispirited gaze. "Well, I know we've been getting along better since then, but...I just can't let myself trust him again. I'm still wondering if I should have let you stay with him for so long. I'm sorry, Annie, but you can't just magically make something like that disappear."

"It's called wiping the slate clean. I had to do it when Nny killed my mother. I got over it. Mostly. There's no reason not to start over. Look. I lived with the man for almost four years. Nothing happened to me. Well, I suppose I'm now a horridly warped young woman destined to become a serial killer before I finish hi skool, but I'm alive, aren't I?"

"Annie, it's different for you."

"How? Please do clarify."

"Well, you're a naive, innocent child. I'm a jaded college girl who's seen WAY too much to be very stable. It's much easier for you to forgive someone than it is for me."

"I still don't see the difference."

Devi sighed. Annie just didn't understand. She desperately wanted to patch things up with him. It was the one thing that had kept her up at night for years. But it wasn't that easy. There were defensive walls that had to come down, mindsets that had to be overridden. If Nny wasn't willing to do his part, they could never start over.

And fat chance NNY was going to help.

"Devi?"

Devi smiled sadly. "Go eat your breakfast, Annie."

"Will you think about it at least?"

"I-"

Tenna chose this moment to burst into the room, waving her laptop around wildly.

"Guess what guess what GUESS WHAT?" she shrieked happily, dancing around in a circle in front of Devi.

"You found out how to change the cursor?" guessed Karasu from the fireside.

"You found the other half of your brain on Ebay?" offered Devi.

"You finished your novel?" was Annette's guess.

"NO!" A pause.

"So?" asked Devi, rather annoyed.

"NNY'S COMING BACK! THEY FINALLY KICKED HIM AND KAYAKO OUT OF PRISON!"

Dead silence. Annette felt a slow smile creeping its way to her face, and a familiar warm feeling returned to her chest. Nny was coming home.

"Well, Devi?"

Devi turned to look questioningly at Annette.

"I think it's time to patch things up with your old boyfriend, non?"


	3. Concert Death Match

Concert Deathmatch

"Hey, Annie, you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"'Tallica's coming to concert!"

"When?"

"Tomorrow. We all got tix, but I thought you and your dad might wanna go, too, so I picked up two extra."

Annette tackle-hugged the speaker, Toni. They fell off from their perch-the lockers-and tumbled to the floor.

"Whoa! Hey! Warn me next time, okay?"

"My apologies."

The skool was in total chaos. Some top official had thought to remove the stone blocks from the commons, and the resulting outrage had banded together all students, prep, Goth, and reject alike. Riots were commonplace as the teens protested the horrid destruction of their favorite meeting places. Wolfgang was currently off by administration helping some cheerleaders set fire to the disturbingly infantile banners that hung on the walls. It was a rare and momentous occasion.

"Hey, guys, the fire alarms just went off. We should get going." Eric pulled Toni to her feet while Kayako picked Annette up bodily and ran.

"Who feels like ditching?" asked an ash-covered Wolfgang running beside Kayako.

"Ooh, me!" Remi giggled and kicked out a glass door.

"Let's go, kids!" Tom dodged through another door. "Whoo! God, I love vandalism!"

"Shut up and run!" Toni did a flying leap that landed her on an abandoned skateboard. Eric, Remi, and Tom pulled out skateboards of their own and took off with only a quick promise to meet up at Annette's house.

Kayako headed straight for her car, and Wolfgang followed. Annette allowed herself one wordless scream of exhilaration before diving into the back seat. Kayako and Wolfgang took the front, and the former floored it.

Later, the group gathered at house number 777. Nny was downstairs, only leaving his lair when Annette went to ask him for money. A brief nod to Kayako, and he was gone again.

"So we're up for the concert tomorrow, then?" asked Toni, examining a bloody dagger.

"Yes, I believe so. My...father did not say anything when I asked him, but usually that is a good sign. We can plan on Nny joining us."

Kayako stole the dagger from Toni and with a shifty glance, hid it in her trench coat. "Good. I love concerts. They refresh me, give me some target practice."

"Please don't cause a scene again, Kay," groaned Eric, miming being stabbed. "You know what happened at the Disturbed concert."

"I was only arrested! They didn't even hold me in jail that time!"

"Only because you decapitated half of the policemen."

"Oh, well, they were annoying me..."

Annette stared at the pair with wide eyes. Kayako smiled in what was apparently supposed to be a reassuring way, but the murderous glint in her eyes-not to mention the rat she had speared on the end of a katana-didn't do much to calm Annie's fears.

"So where do we wanna go now?" asked Remi, lazily stroking one of the many black cats that roamed the house. "Any ideas?"

"Movie?"

"Shopping?"

"Kill something?"

"Nothing that'll get us jailed for more than a year, please."

"Oh, come on-"

"How about we all go to Carpe Noctem?" suggested Annette as she searched for a dragon necklace that had gone missing the day before.

"Ooh, I like. Maybe we can search out Squee."

"Toni, please don't bore us with your romantic prose again."  
"Shut up, Kay. you know he's hot."

"Okay, I'm leaving." Kayako stood and stretched. "Anybody else wanna ditch the lovebird?"

"Hey, stop being a bitch, Kay. I'm not going to talk about it anymore."

"Our savior!" Tom hugged Kayako, but released her when he saw the eight-inch blade hovering near his eye.

"Hee hee. Good boy." Kayako resheathed the blade and tucked it away.

"You really scare me sometimes, Kay. Did you know that?" Tom shuddered.

"Hey, guys, let's take the bus up to Carpe Noctem, okay?" Toni effectively defused the situation, and there was a clamoring to find money.

"Don't worry, mes amis, I can take care of bus fare. Nny gave me more than enough." Annette smiled shyly. "Um, if that's alright with you..."

"You mean we don't have to pay? Sweet!" Eric was not one to pass up anything free, even if it was makeup.

Hey, his girlfriend wasn't too picky.

Annette just giggled and left the house, closely followed by the others. Kayako gave the neighbors a shifty-eyed look and made a loud death-rattle at the elderly man who was getting his mail.

Ten minutes later, the bus pulled up to the end of the University's driveway. Annette and posse left the bus and its riders with a few gallons of water and something that caused a small explosion to occur in the rear of the vehicle.

"Oh, hello, children!" cooed Mary, the university's holo-droid. "Come on up. You're visiting the kids in 1306, right?"

"Hai!" Kayako saluted the hologram, much to its amusement.

"Let's take the shortcut this time!" squealed Mary.

"What shortcut-"

Mary darted through a curtain and into what appeared to be a solid wall. Upon following her, however, they found the wall quite passable. A moment, and they found themselves outside the door to 1306.

"How the hell-" started Remi.

"Simple worm-hole theology. I love the little quirks of this university," sighed Mary. "Open up, girls! You've got visitors!"

The door slammed open, startling the teenagers outside. A very disheveled-looking Tenna dove out, rolling into a crouch just before she hit the door on the opposite wall. She jumped up, grinned, and waved energetically.

"Hi!" she squealed, nearly falling over with the ferocity of her arm movements. "How're your SPLEENS?"

"We're good, Tenna." Remi rolled her eyes. "We're just stopping by for awhile. How are you?"

"I'm GREAT! I just got fourteen hours of sleep and I'm just FANTASTIC and oh, look at the time! I HAVE NEED OF FOOD!"

"Shut UP, Tenna." Karasu appeared at the doorway, her hair unbrushed and last night's makeup smudged across her face. "What the hell? What are you guys doing here? Is it Saturday already?"

"No, we skipped skool." Toni stretched. "You gonna invite us in, or what?"

"Shit!" Karasu ran back into the dorm, shouting after her "Come on in! I'll be there in a minute!"

The group wandered into the dorm, shortly joined by Tenna and the boys. Devi was nowhere to be seen, but Kari came back a couple minutes later with newly applied makeup and somewhat brushed hair.

"So, guys, how's life?" asked Squee, sitting down on the floor.

"Good, you?" Toni's eyes were on full-out sparkle. "How's college treating you?"

"Uh, I'm fine..." Squee gave a scared glance at the lovestruck teenager. "Can anybody tell me why Toni's being such a psycho today?"

"She's madly in love with you, mon ami," giggled Annette, dodging a kick from Toni. "She cannot stop declaring her ever-deepening amour. Why, she's spoken of nothing else for ages. Please do us all a favor and kill her."

"I could take care of that for you," murmured Kayako, slipping a hand into her pocket.

"Um, how about not?" Squee gave a small squeak of terror. "K-Kari, how's lunch coming?"

"Almost ready!" she called from the hearth.

"Damn..." Kayako took her hand out of her pocket, looking disappointed.

"Man, Kay, you're the psycho!" Toni's eyes were wide.

"Let's not talk about this, guys..." Pepito grinned. "Hey, Toni, if you need to satisfy the hunger for a relationship, I'm single."

"Piss off, you little demon," growled Toni.

"I'm up to it, Hellspawn." Kayako grinned evilly. "Whaddaya say?"

"Sweet! I get the psychotic one!" Pepito grasped Kayako's hand and kissed it. "I pledge my heart to you, senorita."

"Lovely. I've always wanted to date a demon..."

"Oh, get a ROOM, you two." Wolfgang mocked gagging and rolled his eyes. "And I thought you weren't the romantic type, Kay. Wasn't it just an hour ago that you were getting pissed off at Toni?"

"Shut up before I kill you."

"Lunch is ready!"

The next night, everyone arrived at the concert, including Nny. Devi almost walked out right then, but eight people can easily restrain one, even a desperate painter.

"Woot! Let's go purchase forty-dollar concert shirts!" screamed Kayako in a rare fit of hyperness.

"Sweet! free stuff!" Eric ran off and didn't return until the concert started.

"Exclamation!" cried Annette. "Let us go find our seats and put on our new concert shirts!"

"Yeah!"

Nny was very annoyed. There were too many people here. Security had taken his knife, and he didn't even have a screwdriver with him. Oh well. He could still get a Molotov cocktail together, seeing as how they were selling vodka at refreshments and plenty of people had lighters. Even so, it was hard not to snap and randomly start killing things. But he had made a promise to Annie, and he was going to keep it.

Or at least, he was going to TRY to keep it.

"Nny, let's go! The concert is starting!" Annette tugged on her parental figure's sleeve, only barely pausing to confiscate the razor blades she felt tucked inside. It was sad how used to this she'd gotten. She deposited the weapons in a trash can, wondering if Nny would be irritated with her. Probably not; he was usually pretty good when it came to Antoinette.

"Fine, fine. I suppose we wouldn't want to miss the opening act…"

Noise blared into the group's ears, spiraling into their minds and rewiring their hearts to beat in time to the music. It almost drove Nny insane, but the noise was pleasant enough to negate the effects of the volume itself. The cheering and the physical contact was an entirely different story…

"Nny, what do you say we have a little fun?" whispered Kayako from nowhere. "I've got the vodka and a lighter. Or would you prefer a dagger?"

"Vodka. I'll get the rest with the dagger." Nny accepted the bottle.

"MOSH PIT!" screamed a random kid, and suddenly everything was fighting and throwing things.

Nny lit the end of a rag on fire and threw the vodka bottle into the crowd. It exploded into flames, and all at once the inferno of fire and screaming engulfed an entire section of the crowd. Annette and her friends ran while Kayako and Nny continued their onslaught.

Blood fire screaming chaos. This was what Nny lived for. He dove through the crowd with ease, managing to avoid almost all contact with the doomed irritants. His knife gave an almost audible ring as it sliced through everything in its path. He laughed quietly to himself as they fell before him, their lifeless corpses burning in his wake. A small portion of burning something landed on his arm, but he only paused to put out the flames when they had seared through his sleeve and actually started singeing the flesh.

"Nny…" A voice reached his ears, far off and weak. "Nny, come back!"

He turned to see Annette running toward him, jumping over the bodies and skirting flames. The girl was obviously hysterical, ash-covered and crying. He stopped, put away his knife, and let her tackle-hug him. After all, fathers had to endure a certain amount of childish antics.

"Nny, stop! You said you weren't going to do this!" she cried, burying her face in the front of his shirt. "We need to get out of here!"

Reluctantly, Nny grabbed Kayako by the wrist as she ran by and towed both girls out of the mayhem and to the entrance. Annie stopped crying and looked much happier by the time they had cleared the fire.

"Oh, Nny, why did you have to stop me?" whined Kayako. "I was just getting started!"

"Time to go, Kayako. Annie's upset."

"O…_kay…_I GUESS we can go…" Kayako pouted, but let herself be led to Nny's car. "But next time, I get to stay. Got it?"

"Yes, yes, whatever you say. Let's just get out of here before the authorities start crowding up the escape routes."

Nny floored it, and the three were on their way back to house number 777. Annette wiped her eyes and stared up at the man she called father, wondering just how he decided to listen to her pleading. Of course, Nny never debated not listening for a second. She was under his care, and so she was immediately placed before all else. It was logical that he should obey the child. He owed it to her, if nothing else.

"…Nny?" asked Annette, shrinking back as if expecting him to lash out at her.

"What is it?"

"Um…why did you leave?"

"You were distressed."

"Oh. Can we get ice cream before we go home?"

"Kayako, would you like some as well?" Nny glanced at the sullen teenager in the back of the car. "Or do you just need to drain someone's blood?"

"Ice cream. Make it vanilla and I'm happy."

"Good. It's settled. Annie, what did you want?"

"Um, vanilla. You?"

"Same. So, Annie, did you enjoy the concert?"

Annette thought about it for a moment.

"Oui. It was very entertaining. I apologize for my childish behavior earlier."

"No need. I understand. You were scared. People do strange things when they're frightened."

He thought back to the six months he'd spent in prison. The endless hours of worrying. He never thought anyone, much less a CHILD, could evoke concern in him. The six armed guards who were witness to his concern were currently resting under six feet of dirt.

"Um…father?"

"What is it?"

"I'll need to go shopping tomorrow. I need new clothes. These ones are all burnt and ashy."

"Fine with me."

Nny turned on the radio, and Metallica blared through the speakers. Ah, the sweet sound of chaos.

Author's note: …..o….kay….then. That one was weird. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but whatever. Im not sure how many more of these things I'll write, but I know I'm not done yet. These characters are just too much fun. My apologies for the weird ending; I had everything until the actual rampage planned out, and then it just sort of happened. Whatever. I have to go do stuff now, so byes!

raven, your friendly Neptunian pyro


	4. Musings

5-5-05

Musings

"Like I said, you people are the reason why people like me exist. You feed off of our torment, our anger, our frustration, our pain. You turn it against us and use it to get your own sick pleasure. It scares me to think that there are so many of you. I'll never be able to purge your kind from the planet. Oh, I can try, but it doesn't really make a difference in the end. In the end, I'll be all alone, and no one will miss me. But I can at least take comfort in the fact that I will have helped make the world a better place."

The chaotic thoughts of a madman took shape, finding their twisted way past his lips and into the dark room. Screaming and groaning provided a soundtrack to his monologue, and the unearthly creaking of a house settling into its foundations punctuated each sentence. A light step paced back and forth, sending small animals scurrying away into the safety of the corners. And dim eyes glared out of a gaunt, sleepless face.

"You know, I don't feel the least iota of pity for you. Your kind exist only to ridicule others, to skulk around in groups and destroy the minds of your victims. Then your victims finally get revenge. Really, you create the killers. You created this killer, too. It's your own damn fault you're here. I'm just completing the chain."

The subject of this speech was taped to a silvery autopsy table in the middle of the room, a single light shining directly into the creature's eyes. There had been no rope on hand, so black duct tape had to suffice. Just tight enough to cut off circulation, the restraints were obviously taking a toll on it. Already the arms and legs were turning purple, the blood slowly coming to a stop in the veins.

"Now, then, to business. I've stalled long enough. It won't be any fun if you can't feel anything."

A ghastly smile lit up the face of a tall, emaciated male. He slowly reached for a scalpel, savoring the look of terror in his victim's lidless eyes. One careful incision on the arm let a small ooze of thick scarlet escape onto the table, and the man winced. Another, and another, and suddenly the silver was stained red. Muscles showed through the red, and there was another smile from the killer.

"Well, well. You've kept in shape. Hoping to impress your vile little females? I suppose you don't need to now, so I can go ahead and take these."

The victim screamed, and his attacker carefully placed something on a tray nearby. More incisions, more scarlet. The screaming was getting annoying. Suddenly the sound cracked into a gurgle, choking off the cry of pain as another something was removed. After that, the victim was silent.

"Good, you've finally stopped making noise. That leaves me free to talk. Hopefully you've started to see the error of your ways. Oh, I won't let you go; it would be mean to let you live like this. I'm obliged to end your pain. However, I won't until you show some sign of repentance. And don't bother saying that you're sorry. I know you don't mean it."

The victim gave a gurgle and strained against the tape, but his lifeless arms and legs failed to obey his commands. A quiet laugh came from the madman, and he exchanged the scalpel for something more destructive.

"Ooh, a hammer! I didn't even know I had this down here! Let's see what this thing can do."

He raised the weapon, hefting it in his hands, feeling the weight of it. Just as he started to bring it back down, a door somewhere higher up opened. There was a quick, light step on the stairs, and another door very close by opened. A sigh, and the madman let the hammer fall to his side.

"Nny? Nny? Oh, there you are. It's time for dinner. I made tacos."

A small child poked her head through the doorway, and her nose wrinkled in disgust. The black hair that had trailed behind her during her descent finally caught up to her, draping over her shoulders. She rolled her eyes and stepped into the room, being careful to avoid the tools and animals strewn across the floor.

"Mon Dieu, Nny. You're covered in blood! Wash up before you eat, oui? I don't want you tracking that all over the kitchen."

The victim moaned a plea for the girl to help him, but she just smiled and shook her head. The sight of those cold eyes chilled him more than anything the man called Nny had said.

"Je regrette, mon ami. I know you deserve this. Don't expect pity from me." She turned back to Nny. "Just kill him already. I'm not reheating the food. I expect you upstairs and at the table in ten minutes."

The victim made another noise, and the girl threw a dagger into his head.

"Now look what you made me do." She retrieved the knife, then glared at Nny. "Ten minutes, Nny."

"Of course." He watched his daughter leave, then turned back to his victim.

"Damn. I'll have to crush your skull now. Not much left."

He sighed, then killed him. Annie was always ruining his fun. The body went into a storage room with the others, and Nny trudged back upstairs, wondering how he was going to get the blood off of his shirt. He really liked that shirt.

"Eh, who cares. Annie's probably got something for it. Good kid, Antoinette. She's growing up to be a nice girl. Now what am I going to do with that cheerleader?"

Author's note: eh, i was bored and felt like writing something. hope it was interesting. i haven't written a jthm fic for awhile, so whatever. i can't find anything intelligent to say. not enough sugar in my system, i guess. whatever. please review or something. im gonna go sleep now.

raven, your friendly neptunian menace


	5. Where Are They Now?

5-10-05

Time for

Where are they Now?

Author's note: thanx to Tsuki, me best friend, this parody has come into being. she suggested that Nny would make a good doctor. and then this happened.

raven

(Extra disclaimer: i no ownie, you no sue me.)

After years of being a homicidal maniac, Nny took the advice of friends and went back to school. He earned his medical degree in just a few short years and is currently a surgeon in a well-respected hospital somewhere in California. Nny set a world record when he performed an open-heart surgery in less than ten seconds, and so far, none have matched the feat. He hasn't lost a patient yet.

Well, nobody IMPORTANT, anyway.

Devi finally emerged from her house long enough to attend college. She earned a degree in filmmaking and promptly vanished again. Every now and then, one of her paintings make their way to a gallery, but the girl herself is rarely seen. She works on animated films in her spare time and was involved for a short time on a television show by the name of Invader Zim. She worked under a pseudonym, though everyone knew it was her anyway.

Oh, and after Nny became a doctor, they moved in together. So far there has been no incidents or attempted murder.

Squee thankfully grew out of his extreme fear of...ahem, everything. He went to college, earned a degree in teaching, and is now teaching tenth grade at a high school. He is a favorite among staff and students alike, and reportedly he gives a good lecture on he importance of being kind to others.

Tenna went to school. Again. And amazingly, she earned a degree in psychology, and is now a family psychoanalyst. That is, when she's not acting in high-budget movies.

Pepito is now the evil dictator who controls most of Europe and part of Asia. He is reportedly assisted by Psychodoughboy, who has nothing better to do.

Everone's favorite Senor Diablo got bored of Hell and went out into the world to become a car salesman. That got boring too, so now he also owns a resort along the California coast. It was recently destroyed by a storm and rebuilt before anyone woke up the next morning.

Damned Elize, due to a freak accident, was reincarnated and is now a cheerleader at her middle school.

Mr. Eff and Sickness are happily married and living in a small house in the suburbs, where Sickness is a highly paid lawyer.


	6. The Foster Experience

5-5-05

There was a knock at the door. Annette jerked out of a fitful sleep, tumbling to the floor and trying to kill her ragdoll before she realized that she was choking Sally. She sat up, briefly wondered how it was that she had come to be sleeping in the living room, and stretched. The knocking continued, so the teenager finally stood and made her way to the door.

"Mon Dieu! Hold ON, I'm coming." Annette tried to put her hair in relative order, then unlocked the door.

There were two people standing on the cement in front of the doorway. They were very...pointy-looking. Hair slicked back and uniforms starched to paper-like crispness, the police officers stood shoulder to shoulder as if they expected Annette to make a run for it. She eyed them suspiciously, but they didn't move. In fact, they looked rather inanimate.

"Eh, bonjour, Monsieurs. Qu'est-ce vous avez?"

The policemen's faces shifted slowly to confusion, and they almost imperceptibly glanced at each other.

"Shit. She's French. Did you understand that?" asked one.

"Not really. I think she cussed us out."

"But she sounds all civil-like."

"Them French can sound the nicest when they're being the most insultin."

"Yeah, yeah. Um...little girl, we are policemen. We need to talk to you. Um...talk...to...you?"

Annette grinned. "Mes amis, bienvenue! Je m'appelle Antoinette. Comment tu t'appelles?"

"Uh...we are policemen. Can we come in now?"

"Oui, oui, tu as confus! Pardon moi." Annette waved them inside and shut the door behind them, its thud a note of disturbing finality in the morning stillness.

"Um...do you know English, little girl?" asked the first policeman uncomfortably.

"Pardon?"

"Okay, let's get an interpreter."

Ten minutes later, a small, mousy woman entered the house, peering blearily around the darkness. She jumped at every sound, and having Annette sneak up on her was not helping.

" Um, dear, I am an interpreter. I can help you understand the policemen. What is your name? " she asked.

"Antoinette."

" Do you understand English? "

" Yes, but I can't speak it. "

"Okay, good. She understands English, but she can't speak it."

"Great. Um, little girl, the state had determined that your current residence is not providing you with the necessary components of a good upbringing. We have been sent here to place you in an alternate home."

" They're putting me in a foster home? "

"Yes, dear, they are. I'm sorry, but it really is the best thing for you." the interpreter turned to the policemen. "She's worried about foster care."

"It's really pretty nice. I grew up in foster care. We'll find you a good home and get you brought up right."

" I don't want to go. "

"I'm sorry, dear, but you don't have much of a choice. Now is your guardian at home?"

" I don't know. "

"You don't know?"

" I just woke up. He might be gone. I don't know. "

"You mean your guardian leaves you home alone often?"

" Yes, sometimes for long periods of time. He didn't come home for a week once. I think that was when he was doing business in the retail district. "

"You mean drug dealing?"

"NON! Of COURSE not! Nny doesn't do that kind of thing! "

"Calm down, Antoinette. Don't get upset. We only want to help."

" You'd be helping GREATLY if you just turn around and leave! "

"I'm sorry, Antionette, but it just doesn't work that way."

"Uh, we'll be outside. I think you can handle this," croaked a police officer-Annette wasn't sure which one.

"Go ahead. I've got it covered." The interpreter turned back to Annette. "Now, dear, we want you to get together what items you want to bring with you, and then we're going to take you down to the police station. After we identify you, we can bring you to a foster home. There's already a very nice family that can't wait to meet you."

"Fuck off."

The woman looked surprised. "My, my, so you DO know English. Is that something your guardian taught you?"

"No, madame, it's something I learned at hi skool. I'm a sophomore now. And stop calling him my 'guardian.' His name is Nny, and he's my FATHER."

"Good. We've moved on to English. Now, Antoinette, let's get together some things for you to take to your new home."

"No. I'm not going with you."

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice. Now where is your bedroom? Or do you just sleep out here?"

"Nny usually sleeps out here. My room is down the hall. You know, you shouldn't play with fire, mon amie. you just might get burned."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, I'm just warning you. After all, I'm not in the best care according to you. Who knows what I might do if you anger me?"

"Let's just go to your room now."

Annette slowly led the way to her room, where she threw together a bag of things to take with her. She had by then realized the futility of her struggles and was planning on running back home the second her foster family looked the other way. The interpreter watched her like a hawk, which did nothing for the teenager's disposition.

"Good, good. Now let's go, Antoinette."

Suddenly, something moved behind the woman. A glint of silver, and Annette's father was holding a knife to the interpreter's throat.

"What's going on, Annie?" he growled, ready to let the blade bite deep.

"They're taking me away. There's two officers outside. I'm being put in foster care."

"But what happened to the never being caught thing?"

"I guess it doesn't apply to me."

"Should I kill her?"

"I don't think so. I'll just be taken farther away."

"I think I'll kill her anyway."

Nny gently pressed the blade into the woman's neck, and a fine ribbon of scarlet wound its way down her throat. She whimpered, but Nny didn't seem to notice. His eyes had taken on that dull gleam of musing that so scared his victims during their torture.

"Nny, stop. NOW."

Obediently, Nny let the knife drop. He had a bad feeling about this, but if Annette didn't want him to kill this irritant, he wouldn't kill her. Instead he adopted a nonchalant-well, almost-stance, crossing his arms and gazing without emotion at the interpreter.

"So what now? You're going to take her away? Don't I have a say in this?" he asked, letting his gaze flick for an instant to his-his daughter.

"I'm afraid n-not, sir," stammered the interpreter, clutching at her bleeding throat as if to make sure it was still there. "W-we have to place little Antoinette in foster care for awhile. If you can p-prove yourself to be a-a good guardian, she c-can come b-back."

"Annie, are you sure I can't kill her?"

"Yes, Nny, I am certain."

"Damn. Well...I suppose you'd better get your things together. Remember Jack and Sally." Nny turned away, staring at the ceiling.

"I will. Um...can you have Devi take care of some of the cats?"

"Why? They take care of themselves."

"Well, Midnight just had another litter, and I think they need some extra help. Nevermind, Madame Interpreter, could you give me a moment to round up the cats? I'd like to take them with me."

"Of-of course, dear." Oh, God, please let me live through this.

"Okay, take this bag for me. Nny, watch her. I'm going to find the cats."

Annette made her way out of the room, grasping and squeezing Nny's hand as she passed him. She felt bad about leaving, but somehow felt worse for Nny. They had grown used to each other's company, and though Annette held no delusions about Nny perhaps taking a liking to her, she knew that he had come to rely on her presence as a reminder of the few humans he considered good ones.

Now he would be alone again.

"Midnight, you sly cat," cooed Annette upon locating the elusive felines in the hall closet. "Come on, mes chats; we're going on a trip."

Mrow trilled Midnight, nuzzling Annette's hand.

"Honestly, cherie, I do not know how you keep getting out, but you sure seem to enjoy yourself. Now, now, into the crate."

Midnight shooed her kittens into the crate Annette held, jumping in herself after the last straggler had made its way over the edge. The girl sighed, picked up the crate, and hobbled back over to her room.

"Fine, I have them. Do we have to leave now?"

"Y-yes. I'm-I'm terribly sorry, sir. No hard feelings. This really-it hurts me too. I never l-like to separate a child from-from their parent. Um...Antoinette, we have to go now."

"Oui, Madame. Goodbye, Nny."

Annette set down the crate and hugged him, and the embrace was carefully returned. Then Nny turned away and left the room, slamming the basement door behind him. He wasn't ever much for goodbyes.

"Come on, Antoinette. the policemen are waiting."

Annette wiped away a tear and picked up the crate, smiling when Midnight licked at her hand in sympathy. They left house 777 for a new home, a place Annette was dreading. She felt like something was pulling her back, like the house didn't want her to leave, but by the time she got to the police car, the strings and ties had broken, leaving her free to make her way to her foster home.

"You'll have a lot of fun, Antoinette," the interpreter reassured her before shutting the door. "Just think of it as a new adventure."

Annette hugged her ragdolls and tried not to cry.

Nny threw the scythe into the wall, missing a woman's head by mere inches. He paced the room, fury spilling over and darkening the room. There was a soft sound, and he scrubbed at his eyes with a ragged sleeve.

"Why the hell did they have to take her away? I'm a perfectly good guardian! She should have let me kill them. Then she wouldn't have had to go away. Dammit, she's too nice for her own good. Now she's gone, and who knows when I'll get to see her again? What'll happen to her if I'm not there to protect her? The world is a scary place. Anything can happen."

"Um...who exactly are we talking about, now?" asked the woman who was tied to the wall.

"My...Annette. I was taking care of her. Can you believe it? Fourteen years old, and they try to take her to a foster home. She'll never make it out of there."

"Well...did you ever think that perhaps this is really the best thing for her?"

"It CAN'T be the best thing for her! They don't understand her out there. She's just going to end up like...like me if they try to raise her 'correctly.' How can they even TRY to take away everything from her?"

"From what you've been saying for the past two hours, I think Annette will be just fine. She sounds like a good, strong girl to me. Maybe you should try to take your mind off of things, you know? Do some traveling, maybe. Try to believe that everything happens for a reason and that this experience will make you both stronger."

Nny abruptly stopped pacing. He whirled around to face the woman, peering intently into her fearless face. She seemed perfectly comfortable in her restraints, tight as they were around her limbs. In fact, he might have been seeing things, but it seemed like she might even be smiling.

"You know, it just occurred to me. You don't seem to be afraid of me. this hasn't happened in awhile. I'm Nny. What's your name?"

"Mika Vargas. Nice to meet you, Nny. Or I suppose it would be nice if we had met in any other situation. Have you calmed down at all?"

"I guess so. You remind me of someone. You didn't have a relative named Edgar, did you?"

"Er, I think I had a brother Edgar. He ran away from home when I was about five, so I barely remember him. Why?"

"I think I killed him."

"Oh. That's too bad. He was a nice boy."

"Yes, he was. I almost regret that one. At any rate, it's over now, so not much use in going on about what I'd do differently."

"Yes, you are right, I suppose. So what are you going to do now?"

"Kill you, probably. Then I think I'll go feed the cats. Or watch television. I haven't decided yet."

"Is there any chance you'd let me go?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, you see, it's just that I'm expecting a little girl to come to my home today. The police had to take her away from her father because they were concerned about his parenting skills. If you let me go, I'll put in a good word about you to the police. Poor Annette must be feeling terrible. I'd hate to miss her arrival."

"You're going to be her foster mother?"

"I guess so. It's just uncanny, really, how things work out, isn't it? Well, if you're going to kill me, you may as well do it now. I don't want to drag this out."

Nny wrenched the scythe out of the wall, hefting it in his hands. A single swing, and Mika Vargas fell to the floor.

"I changed my mind. But if I so much as SUSPECT that Annie isn't happy with you, I will hunt you down and kill you along with every member of your family, your spouse's family, and anyone else I can find with the surname Vargas. Got it?"

"Of course. Don't worry, Nny, I'll take good care of her. Thanks for sparing my life. I'll remember this. And good luck getting little Annie back. Um...could you point me in the direction of the door?"

"To your left."

"Oh. Thank you. Goodbye, then."

Mika stood and left, hobbling away on unsteady legs. Nny just sighed and wondered how he had come to be so soft-hearted.

Annette shuddered, then walked up the steps to a bright pink house. The cats mewled softly to her in an encouraging manner, but even they could not ease her fears. The police had left, along with the interpreter, and the teenager was alone to meet her new family.

"D'accord, mes amis, let's do it."

She rang the doorbell. It sounded normal enough, a pleasant chime that echoed faintly through the house for only moments before the door was wrenched open. Annette felt a wave of warmth wash over her, and then she had to suppress a gag reflex.

"Hello, honey!" cried a motherly voice from inside. "Welcome home!"

"Hi, Antoinette!" giggled a small child voice somewhere out of sight.

"Hi, Antoinette!" a second child's voice shrieked.

"Hello, Antoinette," added a male voice. "Come on in."

Annette hesitantly entered the house, shivering and trying not to scream. It was too...bright. Pink and beige and pastel. There was too much warmth and happiness there. Annette already missed the dark coolness of her real home.

The final straw came when she heard the music. Light jazz was playing in the background, permeating the room and drilling its way into her head. Personally, Annette would take the screams of tortured souls over this monstrous...noise.

"So, Antoinette, I hear you come from a spot of trouble," began the father, a stout, gray-haired man of about forty. "Something about your father in trouble with the law?"

"Robert, don't start with that already!" reprimanded his wife, a woman who did NOT look like she'd had two children.

"It's quite alright, Madame. And please, call me Annette. I hardly use my given name anymore. Nny didn't know how to pronounce it, so I ended up being called Annette. Er, yes, he was in some trouble with the police. Something about being violent. But I assure you, Nny is really a loving and caring guardian. I am not quite sure why I have been placed in foster care." Annette looked around. "Er, where can I put the kittens?"

"Kittens?" exclaimed the children at once, throwing themselves upon the crate.

"Er, go ahead and take them to your room, dear. We cleaned up the attic for you, if that's suitable."

"How about the basement?"

"Well, we have a sort of game room down there. It's fully furnished-"

"No, I'll take the attic, then. Thank you very much for putting up with me."

Annette sprinted up the stairs to the attic, a sparsely furnished expanse stretching away into the darkness. The girl dropped the crate onto the bed, threw her bag onto the ground beside it, and flopped down on the mattress with a sigh. It was nicer up here, darker. She could breathe properly again.

"Oh, God, Midnight, how am I going to do this?"

Midnight shrugged and went back to exploring the attic. Her kittens tumbled after her, tripping over unsteady paws and staggering into each other. Annette was left by herself to ponder her current situation and how dismal everything was turning out.

"Well, time to redecorate, I guess." Annette sat up. "Where should I put my things, I wonder?"

She settled on using the crate as a dresser, much like she'd done back home. Candles were placed on the floor and on any clear surface she could find, and a quick sweep of a lighter gave the whole place a warm, dim glow.

"Okay, then. Jack, Sally, I guess I'm stuck here. What do you propose we do?"

No answer. They hadn't talked in awhile, probably because of the whole foster care thing. Instead, Annette turned to her bag and began unpacking her most precious possessions, stowing each one carefully under the bed.

Then a glint of silver caught her eye. A beautifully crafted dagger with a handle of carved bone was poking through the back of Sally's dress. Annette removed the knife, remembering the birthday present she had gotten her first year with Nny. A dried brownish-red stain splashed across the end of the blade, and some of it had rubbed off into the stuffing of her ragdoll. Annette hugged the dagger to her chest, remembering how Nny had cut his hand while polishing the bone handle. He had thrown the knife at the wall in annoyance, and Annette had never bothered to clean it. She knew she wouldn't until she was safely back with her father in house number 777.

"What do you mean, they took her away?"

Kayako threw a dagger into the door frame. Her eyes blazed red, and even Nny found himself taking a few steps backward.

"The police showed up yesterday and threw her in a foster home. She made me promise not to kill them."

"Can I kill them?"

"No, Kay. It would upset Annie."

"Well what the hell am I supposed to tell everybody? That the kid can't come to skool because she got slammed in a home?"

"Yes, actually. I'm sorry, Kay, but she's probably been transferred to a different skool by now."

"Shit. I am gonna KILL her foster family."

"No, Kay. Just-just don't, okay? I don't want her to get taken away again."

Kayako did a double take. "The hell? Sentimentality from a serial killer. My Goddess I never thought I'd see the day."

"Don't get smug, kid. I could still kill you."

"Oh, somehow I doubt it. Now take care, dear. I'm going to go track down Annie and kill her foster family. Jaane!"

Kayako smiled and left, leaving Nny to wonder if she was suffering from PMS.

"Class, class, we have a new student joining us today. Everyone say hello to Antoinette C."

Dead silence. Annette slouched against the wall in a manner she hoped was kind of pessimistic, but the slight shaking of her hands shoved deep into pockets betrayed her nerves. Her earrings slowly clinked, the skulls on them gleaming in the florescent lights. A small intake of air, and she surveyed the room.

"Hey, what's up with her hair?" asked one girl, a petite blond in a cheerleading outfit. "It's all weird and shit."

"Lexie, don't say that word in here," reprimanded the teacher.

"But still. What is UP with that?"

Annette fingered a strand of her hair. It was blue. She had dyed select portions of it a few weeks ago. That, and cut it. Sort of. Actually, her hair had caught fire shortly after she dyed it, and part of it had burned off. Now her hair was jagged, ending just below her shoulders. Lexie was right. It DID look weird.

"Um, hello, dumbass. Are you awake over there? I asked you a question."

"Actually, you asked the teacher, mon amie. And for your information, I dyed it and burned it. So fuck off." Annette glared at Lexie.

"Antoinette, don't use vulgar language in the classroom."

"My pardons, Madame. Lexie, I'll see you after class. Now where do I sit?"

"The empty seat by the black-haired girl."

"Oui."

Annette sat down, and a feeling of deja vu swept over her. The girl who was to sit next to her was very familiar.

"Hey, Annie. Remember me? I was your best friend in second grade. I'm Demonica."

"Mon DIEU! It's...it's you! I almost forgot you! I'm so sorry I never called back. It's just, well, you see, my mother went insane, and, um...well..."

Demonica raised her eyebrow. "I always knew that lady was psycho. No offense, of course."

"Er...none taken. But, well, she tried to track down my father, and, um, he turned out being a little more insane than she was." Annette looked away. "Let's just say that I got used to blood. Very used to it."

"Sweet. So he killed her, right?"

"Yes. Yes, he did, and I've been staying with him until yesterday. That's when the cops came and took me away to a foster home."

"Really? Man, I'm so sorry. It must be really hard for you to be in a home. I hope your dad gets you back."

Annette took a long hard look at Demonica. Purple hair in the wildest spikes she'd ever seen, black makeup and white face, torn black clothes, and combat boots. She resembled...Annette. YAY!

"Thank you so much, Demonica. I want to get back home so bad. I mean, Nny is really messed up, but I HATE my foster home. It's...pink. Very pink."

"You poor thing. Need me to kill them for you?"

"No, I don't think so. If they die, I might never get to go back. I'm better off running away. But why am I talking about this? We must stop discussing such trivial topics and try to convince our classmates that we're not homicidal freaks."

Everyone, including the teacher, was staring at the pair. Annette smiled reassuringly, as did Demonica. Unfortunately, Demonica had had her canines converted to fangs, and this did little to reassure her peers of her harmlessness.

"So...um...how have you been?"

Demonica grinned. "I've been great. Emancipation from my rents has done me a world of good. I mean, I know I'm just a freshman, but it's never too early to learn to make an honest living. That's why...er, well, I've encountered your dad a few times, I think. He's pretty creative, you know that? Taught me how to castrate someone with a spork."

"You too? Yeah, that's him. Demonica...this isn't helping with the 'we're perfectly normal' thing."

"Eh, let em fear us. It's funner that way."

"I guess so. God, I miss my old friends..."

The door was suddenly kicked open, and a very irate Japanese chick burst into the classroom.

"Konnichiwa, Annie. Who do I need to kill, now? This teacher pissing you off? How about that preppy bitch in the first row?" She twirled a dagger almost nonchalantly, wondering how best to begin.

"Don't kill anyone, Kay. I'm fine, really. Nice to see you. Demonica, this is Kayako, one of my friends from skool. Kay, this is my old friend Demonica."

"Hey, kid. You should transfer. Too many preps here. Wanna go set fire to stuff?" Kayako glared at the teacher before setting a book on fire.

"Sorry, Kay, but I gotta keep a low profile until they let me live with Nny again. And that means no setting fire to things. If you'd like to join us for class, I'm sure the teacher wouldn't mind."

The teacher nodded in agreement, fearing for her safety and hoping the book blaze would be contained by the trash can. Kayako sighed, sat down, and put away her lighter. Her sugar high was wearing off.

"Good. Okay, then. Madame teacher, carry on."

Demonica just smiled and shook her head. Annie had the best friends.

"So are they going to let her come back, or is this permanent?"

Devi had actually choked down her hysteria enough to come to house number 777. She was currently perched on the kitchen table, marveling at how much blood and gore had accumulated after a single day of Annie's absence. Strangely enough, the sight didn't really concern her as much as Nny's appearance.

"Nny, talk to me. You're not well."

Nny was completely devoid of anything resembling his normal angst. His clothes were spotless, as though he hadn't even killed anyone since Annette had left, and the mess in the kitchen was actually probably from a few days ago. Instead, Nny's eyes had taken on a glassy look that Devi had only seen once before-that time when he'd OD'd on caffeine. Devi had ended up taking him to the hospital that time. Maybe she'd have to do that again.

"Nny? Nny? Do I have to kick your arse or something? What's wrong? I mean, I know the whole thing with Annie, but for GOD'S SAKE, MAN, PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER. I don't like doing this concerned friend shit, okay, so you better snap out of it before I kill you."

Nny slowly turned to look at her. "Why bother? In fact, go ahead and kill me. I'm getting sick of this plane of existence. Maybe this time I'll get some answers."

"Oh, for God's sake. Okay, you know what? I'm going to torch one of your paintings, got it? Ooh, look, this one looks nice. Now where's the lighter fluid?"

Devi stopped just before she dumped the lighter fluid on the painting. Nny was holding a knife to her throat.

"Oh, good. You're back. How was insanity? Hope you enjoyed it, because the real world really sucks right now."

"Drop the lighter fluid."

She obeyed. "So, what's your plan?"

"I'm letting her find her own way back."

"Really? That's not what I was expecting."

"Well, she can take care of herself, right? In the meantime, I should get back to work. Or maybe get some new weaponry. Annie needs a few new toys to play with when she gets home."

Nny dropped the knife and left the room. Devi sighed and pocketed the lighter, wondering why she even bothered with such a psychotic freak.

"It's because you love him, dear," said the voice in her head.

"Oh, Goddess, not you again."

"So this is my room."

"It's dark. Ooh, sweet dagger. Is that blood?"

"Don't touch it. It's, um, special. There's another one like it over there."

"Oh, got it. So your dad got these for you?"

"Most of them. A few I had to buy myself when he forgot to remind me to bring Jack and Sally with me...Eh, well, the streets can be dangerous for a teenager."

Demonica stared into a candle. The flames flickered upward for a moment before returning to a small glow around the wick. Her red eyes reflected the fire, and she smiled at the kitten who examined the melted wax around the candle curiously.

"Yeah. So how are you going to get back home?"

"I don't really have that worked out yet. Kayako can't kill them, I know that. I sent her back to her house with a new dagger. That girl loves Asian weaponry. Her parents are trying to discourage her from being homicidal, but so far she's just given them the finger. In fact, she and my father ended up in prison awhile ago. They were kicked out, though, after they massacred most of the guards and a few prisoners."

"Oh, to be that lucky..."

Annette flopped down on her bed with a sigh. So far, Kayako had been the only one of her friends to track her down. Maybe the others hadn't wanted to skip skool. Or maybe they just didn't care all that much.

"Oh, good Lord. Annie, your friends are probably being watched like hawks after the prison thing. My guess is Kayako only came because she killed something. Don't worry about it."

"Who wants cookies?" cooed Mika Vargas, popping her head through the door.

" Get out of my room! " screamed Annette.

"Oh, sorry, girls, I didn't mean to intrude. Here, I'll leave the cookies by the door. Have fun, dears."

"You know, I should have let somebody kill that woman," growled Annette.

"Don't worry about it. You'll get out of here."

"I hope so..."

Toni paced the room, eyes blazing. Kayako contemplated throwing a dagger at her, but she resisted for fear of retaliation. Eric was sprawled out on the ground, either high or inebriated, nobody had been able to figure it out yet. Wolfgang, usually the drunk one, was for once sober and worried, though he hid the latter well. Remi was just sitting there, bored as hell. Tom...well, Tom hadn't been there for a LONG time. Nobody was sure exactly what had happened to him, but they knew it was bad.

"Hey, guys," Ben stood up. "We should go get her. I mean, what's to lose? Kay's already been to jail."

"I don't think so. She might not want us to help. Maybe Annie's enjoying herself."

"Eric, you stoner, she HATES her foster home." Kayako snarled and jumped up. "But she won't let us kill them. Said something about wanting to get home legit. Or maybe she just wanted to kill them herself. I don't know. I wasn't really listening."

"Sit down, Kay." Wolfgang rolled his eyes. "I suggest we try to get over it and let her come home on her own. We don't need to get her any more upset by trying to convince her to kill everything. Anybody feel like seeing a movie?"

"Screw you, Wolfie. I want to go see Annie." Toni gave him the finger and left.

Or tried to. Halfway down the driveway, a flying Japanese skoolgirl tackled her to the ground.

"Holy CRAP! KAY, YOU IDIOT! GET OFF OF ME!"

Kayako just grinned and nuzzled her head. "Oh, why so glum, Toni? You don't like me anymore? I thought you loved me."

"God, you are INSANE. Uh, guys! Somebody get her off of me!"

"Well, well, look what we have here. you know, I'd be a little creeped out if I hadn't seen this before."

A pair of pointy black boots appeared very close to Toni's hair, and suddenly Kayako had been picked up and was nestled in the arms of a very smug little hellhound. The Japanese teenager smiled and let herself be carried back into the house.

"Oh, God. Not him." Toni sat up and shook the dirt from her hair. "Pepito, get your hand away from there. Is anybody gonna help ME up?"

"Sorry, cherie, but the driveway is not a place to take a nap."

Nny helped her up, then slipped into the house without another word. Toni just rolled her eyes. It was always kind of annoying when Nny pulled that "mysterious stranger" crap. Hell, it was HIS house they were in. It's not like they'd just met the guy. Oh, well. At least he let them use his house as a base of operations for their world domination plots.

Eric lifted his head up for a moment, stared blearily at her, and went back to sleep. Nobody bothered to wake him up, as he could be incredibly irritable when he had a hangover.

"What made you decide to drop by, Pepito?" queried Kayako, lacing her fingers together around the back of the boy's neck. "They kick you out of college already or did you just miss me?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Kay. I just wanted to know why Devi's ranting about Annette being gone. She run away or something?"

"No, they put her in a foster home." Ben smiled. "Nny seems to think she can take care of herself, so don't get any ideas."

"Well you could always send some of your little friends to watch out for her or something," laughed Remi.

"Oh, those little demons are kawaii," giggled Kayako.

"Uh, Kay, you can let go of me now. I want to sit down." Pepito attempted to dislodge Kay's arms from his neck and failed miserably.

" Oh, Pepito, don't be a spoilsport. You can sit down just fine. " Kay grinned again and nuzzled his head.

"This is just disgusting. Can we leave now?" Ben stood up and headed for the door. "Come on, guys, let's leave the lovebirds alone."

"Man, Kay, you sure are affectionate today," laughed Remi. "Have you been hitting the sake again?"

"Maaaaaaaybe." Kayako giggled and buried her head in Pepito's chest.

"Why do you put up with her, anyway?" asked Remi.

"Well, I figure I need someone to play with for all eternity. This girl's got the making of a real killer. I like that in a chick."

"How eloquent. I'm leaving." Wolfgang followed Toni, hoping that she hadn't left with his car yet.

"Hey, guys, wait up. I'll, uh...come on, Eric, up you go. We're getting out of here." Remi hefted Eric into a more or less standing position, then dragged him out the door.

A time later, Kay lifted her head. "Hmm. They're gone. What do you say we-"

"You two. Out. Now."

Nny grabbed them both, pulling them apart. A quick heave, and the teenagers went flying out the door. He slammed the door shut, sighed, and went back downstairs. Those damned kids had an infinite number of places to do that in. The whole thing sickened him.

"Cat, go away. I'm not in the mood for play." He nudged a small black cat away from his feet and picked up a scalpel. "Now let's go see how that convenience store clerk is doing?"

Annette sighed. It had been a week, and already her foster family was trying to make it seem like she'd always lived there. They had laboriously tried to decipher her favorites, be it food or movie, and somehow they'd even managed to figure out what her hobbies were. Well, some of them, anyway.

"What's that noise?"

Mika poked her head in through the door, and a dagger just barely missed her head. She stifled a scream, then stared open-mouthed at the teenager who was still holding a knife.

"Oh, oh my. Well, I guess this doesn't much surprise me. Like father, like daughter, I suppose."

"What do you mean, Madame?"

"I met the man, you know. He's pretty spry for a skinny little thing. Just about chopped my head off. Isn't that silly? I told him I'd put in a good word about him to the police, get you back sooner. Now why don't you put those away and come downstairs. I made cookies!"

Annette carefully set down the knife and came to the door. Mika smiled, turned, and went downstairs.

"You know, I can't say too much good about that father of yours. Why is he so angry all the time?"

"He's had a lot of things happen to him. A lot of bad things."

"He rant like that all the time?"

"Yes. Yes, he does. I like listening to his rants. They're really very wonderful. So full of analysis on the atrocities of human life. Now if you have something you'd like to say, I suggest you say it right now." Annette stopped on the stairs, crossed her arms, and refused to move.

"Well...I just want to say that maybe it would be best if you stayed here for awhile longer. I mean, well...he tried to kill me, your father. Said he'd killed my brother."

"And he more than likely did. What's your point?"

"You don't see? It's dangerous for a young girl like you to be staying alone with a man like that. An unbalanced creature, who knows what he's done to you?"

"What are you suggesting, Madame?" Annette's eyes narrowed, their black rims furthering the slitted look. "Do you mean to say that...my father may have done something to me?"

"Well, he certainly warped your mind past all hope of recovery!"

"I'm leaving."

"What?"

Annette went back upstairs. "I don't like how you're talking to me, and I'm leaving. If you're going to turn me against my own father, I'm better off staying with my homicidal Japanese friend back home."

"Now you get back here, young lady-"

"Midnight, round up the kittens. I'm leaving."

Ten minutes later, Annette, followed by a cat and five kittens, jumped out the attic window and landed silently on the hard earth. She fingered a dagger, then exchanged it for a small iron nail. There was a movement in the kitchen window, and she threw the tiny shard of metal. A soft gasp and a thud, and Mika Vargas was no more.

"Good. Let's go, guys. Any idea how to get a ride back to town?"

Ten minutes later, Annette found Demonica under a tree in the park.

"Um, Dem? Can I ask you a favor?"

"Yeah, what?"

"You can drive now, right?"

"Yeah, the state issued me a license because of the emancipation thing. I live in my van. Why? Do you need a ride somewhere?"

"How about you come back to my place with me? Nny wouldn't mind an extra kid in the house, at least not for awhile."

"I'd love to. You kill the foster family or what?"

"Well, just the mother. She was getting irritating. Can we go now? The kittens are getting antsy."

"Okay, whatever, let's go."

"Um...Can you let us in? It's late, and we're cold. Nny? Nny, I know you're awake!"

The door creaked open, and a gaunt, pale face peered out of the gloom into a darkness that was actually slightly brighter than the inside of the house. His eyes widened once he finally recognized the face of the girl standing in front of him, but he said nothing. After all, there wasn't much to say.

"I'm terribly sorry to arrive without warning, and for bringing a guest, but Demonica doesn't have anywhere to stay. Can we come in now?"

"Yes, of course. Hello, Demonica. Come in, girls. Oh, look, the kittens even decided to return. Did the police let you go already?"

"I sort of let myself go. Let's go make dinner. I'm starved."

Nny smiled and pulled his daughter into a hug. He just as quickly turned and left, but the brief show of emotion had been enacted, and Annette smiled. Her father was quite an interesting character.

"So that's Nny, then. He looked taller when I saw him. And more creepy."

"Well, he's got to tone it down for me, being as how I'm a scared little girl."

"I see. How do I get enrolled in your skool, now?"

"We'll take care of that later. Let me show you my room. You can stay there until we clean out another room."

Annette smiled, drinking in the dark aura of the house. 777 was her home, and she was sure glad to be back.

"Annie! I'm making ramen. Tell your friend not to expect much. I'm not a great cook, you know."

A small giggle, and Annette shook her head. She would never get used to those little outbursts of Nny's. Then she caught sight of her dolls, which somehow had been placed back on her bed, and she knew that everything was as it should be.

"The family is whole, and all is right with the world," she murmured to herself.

"Hey, Annie, there's a dead body in the bathroom!"

"Coming!" She glanced at the dolls once more and hurried off. "Honestly, Nny, I'm gone for a week and you manage to get the house filthy again. That's the last time I leave YOU alone."

Author's note: oh, goddess, I cant believe I did that. Nny was….totally ooc. I mean, NORRIBLY OOC. O well. Hopefully you all can enjoy it. I better go before im caught online again…heh, heh. See ya, kiddies.

raven, your friendly Neptunian insomniac


	7. Revenge

6-30-05

"Annie! Phone!"

Annette's eyes flew open. She bolted up, hit her head on the skull hanging from the ceiling, and fell out of bed. Her hair was sticking out everywhere, but she didn't worry about it yet. Shje yawned, wiped her eyes, and stumbled to the door.

"Mon Dieu, Nny, I'm coming..." she called sleepily. "Who the hell calls at this time of day? Zut alors, it must be seven AM. No one in their right mind gets up at this time on a friday."

Johnny was standing outside in the hall, looking irritated. He had obviously been sleeping as well, for he looked slightly more alert and the dark circles under his eyes were less pronounced. He handed her the phone and disappeared without a word.

"Allo?" murmured Annette, retreating back into her room.

"Annie? It's Ben."

"Hi, Ben. What are you calling me at this time in the morning for?"

"Uh, I've got bad news."

"You ran out of hair dye?"

"No. Annie, I'm serious. This is BAD."

"What happened?" Annette was instantly concerned. Ben hadn't even laughed at the hair dye comment. Whatever it was, it must really be horrid.

"Well, remember how I said we were going out to a club last night?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well...you know how Eric is...is into...excess?"

"Oui. Tell me what happened, mon amie. Is Eric in trouble?"

"Not exactly. I don't think you can call it trouble, Antoinette." Ben took a deep breath, choked, and blurted out "Eric is dead. He OD'd last night and the bastards at the club just left him in the gutter to DIE!"

Annette dropped the phone. Her legs felt weak, and she had to steady herself on the wall for a moment before she could bend to retrieve the phone. Hands shaking, she brought it up to her ear to catch the tail-end of Ben's sobs.

"B-Ben...I'm so sorry. Eric was a-a good child...he was like mon frère...Where are you?"

"I'm at Wolfgang's. Everybody's there except..."

She didn't have to finish. Tom had died a long time ago. Nobody knew it, but he'd been in a gang. One day he got into a fight with the wrong person and ended up with a pound of metal in his chest. It had been hard enough to lose him. Now Eric was gone, too...

"I'll be right over, mon amie. Goodbye."

Annette hung up, then wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She mustn't let this affect her. She had to be an insect, cold, emotionless, just like Nny had been. Don't think about it before reaching the others. The last thing they needed was her getting killed, too. She grabbed her trench coat and the keys and disappeared.

Nny had heard everything. The walls were not thick, and years of isolation had trained him to pick up even the slightest noise. Another one of Annie's friends had died. He had tried to explain that everyone would leave, that she could never become too attached to anything, but of course she hadn't listened. Being a young girl, she had let her heart open up to these misfits, and now they were slowly disappearing. It was her own fault, but it still pained him to see her suffer.

Silently, Johnny moved to the basement. He didn't much feel like killing anything today, but at the very least, it would take his mind off of things. He picked up a knife, feeling the sheer weight of it in his palm. Its polished blade glowed, reflecting the dim light back up into his eyes. He stared, eyes unfocused, and slowly brought the blade's edge to his wrist. The rough cloth of he sleeve gently parted, the steel slicing through it without a sound. He smiled at the sight of pale flesh, and he let the knife's own weight bring the knife down to rest against the skin.

It wasn't certain how long he stayed like that. It was long enough for the blade to release a thin river of crimson, but not long enough for it to spread on the ground. As it happened, a sudden sound jolted Johnny out of his dangerous reverie. He abruptly dropped the knife, clasping his bleeding wrist with his other hand. Breathing for the first time in what seemed like ages, he quickly bandaged the cut and left the room.

He shuddered and climbed the stairs to the main level of the house. What had happened, Johnny wasn't sure, but one thing was for certain: he couldn't stay down there while he was in this frame of mind.

"NNY! NNY!" Annette was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Johnny sprinted the last ten steps and threw open door. The strong-willed young woman he had come to know was suddenly small, fragile, and crumpled into a dark heap in a chair. He stopped, uncertain of what to do, but finally he went with is instinct.

"Stop crying. You'll ruin that eyeliner you're wearing."

Annette looked up at him, laughing hoarsely. She was going into hysterics. What was Johnny supposed to do NOW?

"Er...would you like something to drink? I-I think we still have some tea somewhere, if you'd like any."

"Second cupboard," choked the teenager, burying her head in her arms and cackling madly.

Johnny nervously edged around his daughter's shaking figure, keeping as close to the wall as the appliances would allow. Annette's almost incoherent direction proved correct, and Johnny soon had a kettle of water boiling on the stove. He finally poured the water into a cup and added the teabag. At a loss for what to do, he handed the cup to Annette and sat down to wait the whole thing out.

When it seemed like Annette was finally calming down and she had finished her cup of tea, Nny spoke.

"What club was it?"

"The Lair."

"I hate that club. Are you...okay?"

Annette took a deep, shuddering breath. "Yes." She looked up. "Kill them."

Johnny nodded, a frightening grin stitched across his face.

"Of course, Annie. I'll be out for awhile tonight. If anything happens, go to Devi's place..." He stood, then gingerly embraced his daughter. "I'm sorry you have to go through this again. I told you never to get attached. But I suppose it can't be helped. Take care of yourself, Annie."

Nny stopped by his room on his way out, or the space that served as a room. He picked up his CD player, checked to make sure Beethoven was in, and silently left the house.

"Hey, man, you gotta pay cover before midnight."

Johnny threw some money at the bouncer, not bothering to stop. He received some dirty looks from the club goers, but he restrained himself. No screwing this up, not when Annie was counting on him. He drifted through the club like a ghost, paying no attention to the people around him, and no one really noticed him either.

"Excuse me, Miss," he murmured to a pale-faced vampire behind the bar, "I heard that there were some guys here with meth. Could you point them out to me? I'm...looking for my friend. He said he was with them."

"I beseech thee, good sir," she rasped back, "why dost thou seek the stoners?"

"I told you. I'm looking for a friend."

"Well, if anything should badly come of this encounter, I wash my hands of all blame. They have taken up a temporary residence over yonder." She pointed to a small group of teenagers in a corner that was somehow darker than the rest of the near-pitch-black club.

"Merci, mademoiselle." Nny smiled, inclined his head, and made his way over to the stoners.

"Well, well, kids, good evening," he called, taking a seat right in the middle of the group. "How are things going? Got any good business today?"

"Hey, man, whatchoo doin here?" slurred one.

"Hey, guys, I think he's on sumtheen" giggled another, a girl.

"Watchoo want, man?" A third, obviously the leader, held out a small plastic bag of...something. "I got everything you need ta have a good time, man. How much money you got? I'll make you a good deal, see?"

"I'm actually inquiring as to the whereabouts of a friend." Johnny smiled gleefully, pulling down his headphones. "You see, my daughter's good friend-and I think you all know what I mean by that-" There was a small round of giggling from the stoners. "wandered in here last night. He was looking for a little something to pass the time. You, I believe, helped him out."

Then his face changed. His grin disappeared, and the maddening gleam of red that flashed in his eyes silenced any chatter that was taking place in the group before. Johnny reached into a pocket and pulled out a small pocket knife. Absentmindedly tossing it up and down, he continued.

"You left him to die. You killed him. I don't believe you realize just how many lives you've destroyed, stoners. How many people do you think you've affected just by that one death, hmm? I can name thirteen right off the top of my head."

The teenagers were looking uncomfortable. Their eyes flitted to the exits, but Johnny had them pinned with his steely glare.

"You kids need to learn a lesson. Disgusting things."

Suddenly, the pocket knife flew through the air. The leader looked down at the corkscrew that had grown out of his chest and slumped over. Johnny caught the other teenagers before they managed to make a run for it, and two knives carved their way through them with sinister ease. Johnny sprang up and sprinted through the now-panicking club, cackling insanely while Beethoven blared through his headphones.

Antoinette heard the door open and close somewhere around midnight. She sat up, got out of bed, and met her father in the hall.

"Did you kill them?" she asked, eyes glowing faintly crimson.

"Of course. Go to sleep, Annie. You've had a bad day."

Annette smiled and went back to her room. She didn't have to worry about Eric anymore. He could rest easy. Tomorrow she would tell the others the good news, but for now, she had to sleep. Dreams of carnage hated to be kept waiting.

Author's note: Ah, revenge. Terribly sorry for the delay in updating, but I've had my hands full the past couple months. Creating websites, studying for finals, being forced to spend time up north with my family... . Anyway, I do hope you've enjoyed this little look into the world of the world's most beloved massive headwound recipient.

-raven, your friendly neptunian psycho


	8. Hospital

Blood. Smell the lovely rich warm blood. So much noise and so little time. Got to get enough for the wall. The Wall. The Wall likes the blood.

Johnny smiled and quickly disposed of another irritant. They were so easily destroyed, so fragile. Humans were ill-equipped for survival, really. It was a miracle they'd survived so long. Their intellect had never really been that great to begin with, and with each passing day they seemed to lose even more of the precious few brain cells they still possessed. Johnny mused on this as he collected more blood, not really paying attention to what he was doing.

And then the thoughts set in. What am I doing? How can I have resorted to this? Where did I go wrong? He tried to block it out, but like floodwater it seeped through the cracks in his defenses and slowly permeated his brainmeats.

He stopped and crouched low to the ground, holding the sides of his head. The chained adolescent that cringed in front of him gradually relaxed as he realized that his captor was completely still and therefore not likely to kill him yet. Relaxation turned to uneasiness as the man still did not move.

"Uh, dude. Are you okay?"

A perfectly dim-witted question, but it had to be asked. Quite obviously a man who slaughtered humans like insects with alarming regularity in his basement was NOT okay, but something else was wrong with him. The madman didn't stir. His captive poked him with his foot, but the expected loss of the appendage never occurred.

"Um...Well, then. Uh...wanna talk about it?"

No answer. The man began to rock back and forth, muttering unintelligibly to himself. Small gasps of air accompanied the muttering, and the captive began to wonder if perhaps he was having a nervous breakdown.

Don't talk to me don't talk to me donttalktomedonttalktomedonttalktome.

Come, now, boy, why don't you get out of this stuffy old basement and have some REAL fun?

NO! GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!

Stop bothering him, Eff. Listen to me, Nny. See that knife? Pull it across your throat. End your suffering once and for all.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Suddenly, a small, light step was heard above them. A young woman skittered down the stairs and into the room, her hair finally catching up with her and falling loosely about her shoulders. Her bright violet eyes took in the scene at hand, and she immediately released the captive.

"Get out of here. My father is in no mood to entertain."

Since she said this in French, the boy didn't understand a word of it, but her cold tone and generous action prompted him to get the hell out of the madhouse.

"Mon pere, c'est d'accord. C'est d'accord. Mon pere, can you hear me? It's okay, mon ami. Sit up. You're having another panic attack. You'll be f-"

The silver flashed across her chest, just below her throat. She gasped, and a river of scarlet was suddenly decorating the front of her shirt. Johnny looked up just in time to catch her as she fell, and the crimson dripping from his face jolted him out of his delusional reverie.

"ANNIE!" he screamed, voice hoarse. She wasn't talking, but her terrified eyes were all he needed to tell him that she was still alive.

Tsk Tsk, Nny. Now look what you've done.

"I didn't mean to-"

I want you to tell me something, Johnny C. Is this all a dream?

"Oh, God, please let it be a dream. It's got to be a dream!"

WRONG.

Johnny's panicked sobs diluted the scarlet on his face, tears further staining Antoinette's clothes as he carried her upstairs. The only phone in the house was so far away. He wouldn't get to it in time.

He stopped halfway up the next flight of stairs. Not knowing what else to do, he pulled Annette's shirt up over the wound and bound it as tightly as he could with the bandages from his left arm. Suddenly he was glad that the cheerleader he'd killed earlier had succeeded in injuring him. The bleeding slowed, but was still very severe. This close to the vitals, halfway between the heart and the brain, it was going to be a long shot.

You killed her, Nny.

You killed her.

You killed her.

You killed her.

You killed-

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Johnny struggled up the steps, half-dragging the barely conscious teenager through the last door. He laid her down, not sure whether to elevate her legs or her head, and just decided to leave her flat on the ground. An endless sprint to the phone, and he dialed the number he never would have dreamed of needing.

"Hello, this is 911. What's your emergency?"

"Daughter-bleeding bad-knife wound GET SOMEBODY THE FUCK OVER HERE BEFORE SHE BLEEDS TO DEATH!"

"Calm down, sir. Your daughter was injured, you said?"

"THERE'S A HUGE FUCKING SLASH ON HER COLLARBONE!"

"Please calm down, sir. Your daughter was cut by a knife? Was it self-inflicted?"

"ARE YOU GETTING HELP, OR AM I JUST TALKING TO AN IDIOT!"

"I've sent for paramedics and the fire department. We've traced your call and already know your location, sir. Just calm down. You need to keep a clear head. Is she breathing?"

"Y-yes, she's breathing. With difficulty."

"Alright. That's good. Has she lost consciousness?"

"Not yet. B-but nearly."

"Good. Just stay with me until the paramedics get here. Can you see your daughter now?"

"She's right over here."

"Sir, I want you to monitor her condition. Now was the wound self-inflicted?"

"ANNIE DID NOT ATTEMPT SUICIDE!" He almost hung up, but the sight of Antoinette's dull eyes stopped him.

"I'm sorry, sir. Please try to calm down. It's just procedure to find out as much about the accident as possible. Now have you treated the injury in any way?"

"I-I tried to bandage it, but it's not very good. I think it's slowed the bleeding."

"Good job. The less blood lost now, the less chance that she'll need a transfusion later. Do you know her blood type?"

"Oh, shit. Hold on." Nny put down the phone and knelt next to Annette. "Annie, do you know what your blood type is?"

She tried to laugh, but instead she ended up coughing up blood. Trembling fingers drew an A in the air, and she gave a thumbs-up.

"Um, A-positive," gasped Nny into the phone, right in the middle of the operator's calls for him to stay on the line.

"Okay. The paramedics will be there shortly."

There was a knock on the door, and Nny dropped the phone. He wiped his face as best he could and sprinted to let them in.

"Sir, where's the girl?" one of them, a tall woman of some sort of Asian ethnicity, asked. She didn't even pause to look at Nny's blood-soaked form and never once broke her cool mask.

"O-over here."

He led both the woman and her three companions to where Antoinette lay. She gave a weak smile when she saw the terror in her father's eyes, as if to say that she would be just fine. Then one of the paramedics swore quite loudly, and they loaded Annette into a stretcher. The last Johnny saw of Annie was her calm eyes, dim but clear as day, and a trembling hand curled into a peace sign.

The door slammed shut again, and Johnny jumped. He hurried back to the phone and told the operator that the paramedics had taken Annette away.

"Alright, sir, she should be right as rain in no time. Are you going to be okay, or should I transfer you to a counselor?"

"I'm-I'm fine."

"Wonderful. I'm going to have to let you go now. Good luck."

There was a click, and the line went dead. Johnny slowly put down the receiver and crumpled to the floor.

"It was an accident," he murmured frantically. "The knife slipped. I didn't mean to do it. It was an accident. It was an accident."

Antoinette C. woke up in the hospital in the middle of a chillingly cold October night. The piercing sound she heard was coming from her throat. Her hands flew to her mouth, and nurses rushed into the room.

"Are you alright"? asked one, a nervous-looking woman of no more than twenty-two. "Did something happen?"

"Thank heavens you're awake," sighed another, an older woman with wrinkled caramel skin. "This young lady here is our blood-loss victim. You've been here for quite awhile, dear. How are you feeling?"

"Where-what-am I dead?" Annette's frightened eyes flitted about the room, searching for something, ANYTHING familiar.

"You're alive and well, Missie," laughed the older woman. "We had quite a scare back when you first came in, but you've been very healthy as of late."

" Where's my father? "

"Oh, dear. Honey, we don't understand French. Can you speak in English again?" The young nurse was positively trembling.

" Where is he? Let me see him! Where is he? "

"Sweetheart, go back to sleep. Everything will be alright."

The nurses checked her blood pressure and left, confident that she was just being difficult. Annette was alone again, and she shivered beneath the thin hospital blanket, no wiser than before.

The next morning arrived with a rude jolt. Annette bolted upright in the bed, sunlight flooding her eyes. Her thick, spiderweb-embroidered comforter slipped to the floor, and it was with a sinking feeling of disappointment that Annette realized she was indeed not in her room at home. Jack and Sally clutched against her chest, she ventured out of bed and slipped into her kimono. The familiar silky cloth against her skin comforted her to a certain extent, and the disappointment faded.

She had started to move when something tugged at her arm. There was a needle firmly planted in her arm, and a small tube trailed out to a bag of liquid on a rolling metal stand. it was simple enough to roll the thing along, but the kimono made it rather uncomfortable to have the thing in her arm.

One creative solution later, the kimono had been passed over the entire stand and the tube was safely protruding from the right end of the sleeve. The entire endeavor had taken roughly thirty seconds, but those thirty seconds were enough to alert a passing nurse of her state of consciousness.

"Up already? My, aren't you an early bird!" That same older nurse who had been so irritating the night before entered the room, fussing over Annette's hair and kimono. "Wherever did you get that thing? It wasn't here yesterday!"

" Nny must have left it last night. "

"Hmm. Well, visiting hours end at sundown, and I didn't hear of anyone coming in after-hours. I'll ask around and see if one of the nurses delivered those things."

" Nobody delivered it. Nny must have come in last night and left it. He wouldn't have come in through the front door anyway. "

Of course the woman didn't listen. "Oh, my. And they left a blanket, too. I don't think those are allowed-"

" You will NOT touch that comforter. "

The nurse jumped. "Okay, then. The blanket stays. Are you hungry?" Annette nodded. "I'll go get you something to eat, then."

She was alone again, so she took the opportunity to check the dolls. Both knives were still in place. No one had "delivered" her things. Johnny somehow snuck in while she was asleep and left them for her. Then again, she didn't really expect anything less of him.

The "food" the nurse brought to her was far less then appetizing. Hell, JOHNNY cooked better stuff. Counting the things that exploded. Annette looked with disdain at the browned...potatoes?-and the blackened slab of meat that might have once been chicken.

" Why am I eating meat at this hour? " she queried, wrinkling her nose.

"This is all we have right now, Missie. I'm sorry if it's not to your liking. Just try to eat a little of it. You desperately need to get some food in you."

And with that, the nurse left her. Again. Those people sure weren't very attentive. Perhaps Annette should have killed her. No, that would just cause a scene. So Annette sat down and picked at the food, forcing down as much of it as she could before her nausea stopped her.

Annette wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but she knew she sure as hell wasn't going to repeat the experience. In fact, staying awake a week in a row seemed quite fitting to get her back on track. She dropped the plate of...food on the floor and left her room to go exploring.

There wasn't much to see. Just scrubbed floors and sickly patients. A few of the latter glanced at her as she passed, but none really paid attention to the chick in the kimono. Soon she found herself at the main desk, far away from her room. She wrenched out the IV and attempted to sign herself out. A nurse caught her, though, and she found herself back in her room-WITH the IV firmly in place.

It was very dark. That was the first observation Johnny's numbed mind made when he regained consciousness. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he had slept, but apparently it had been long enough to warrant a full twenty hours of rest. That is, if it was only one day later.

Slowly he rose, feeling for the first time the aches and pains of the nights before. It seemed as though he had a few broken bones. Just ribs, though. Nothing major. It fascinated him how a desperate human could suddenly gain formidable strength. The last one had almost gotten away. Maybe Johnny was just getting old.

And then it came back to him. Two weeks ago, he had almost killed her. He stopped and took a deep, shuddering breath. It had been like this with Devi. Too many emotions welling up at odd moments. But maybe Annie would forgive him. Devi never could, he knew that. But it would kill him if Annie couldn't.

The thoughts were drowned out with an almost scary ease, the kind of ease that can only come from practice. Johnny smiled and stretched. Time to get back to work. He had been rather lazy as of late.

His chosen victim was a rather old creature, an adult who looked to have even surpassed Nny's age. Gray hair was sticking straight up around his face, and the beginnings of wrinkles showed themselves when he opened his mouth to scream. This creature had been one of the worst ones. Even Johnny didn't want to think about the things this man had done.

"How to deal with you?" he asked, calmly burying all emotion. "You've been very bad. Do you understand? VERY bad."

The man chose this moment to spit at him. Johnny impatiently forced his victim's mouth open and snatched out his tongue. For awhile, all he could do was dribble blood on the floor.

"Much better. Now let's see. Which do you prefer? Scalpel or spork?" Nny held up both instruments, but lowered them when he noticed that his victim wasn't paying attention. "Am I talking to myself? I could have sworn there was someone here with me. PAY. ATTENTION."

Johnny hurled a spork at his victim, but for the first time in a LONG time, his aim was off. Instead of hitting the man in the trachea, it caught him in the shoulder. Then again, the man was thrashing wildly, so it wasn't surprising that he had missed. Still, it aggravated Johnny.

"Are you listening now?" He casually relieved the victim of two small flaps of cartilage on the sides of his head. "Much better," he murmured when the man screamed.

"Emmie o!" screamed the man.

"Let you go? But it'd be mean to let you live like this. So deformed. Wouldn't you rather end your suffering sooner than later?"

The man was sobbing now, and he nodded. Johnny's lips curled into a sneer, and he kicked him hard in the chest. The chains with which he was bound shifted, cutting deeper into the flesh. Disgusting filth.

"You make me ill. You fucking coward. Who knows? I might have had some respect for you if you'd answered no. Something that does not wish to cling to life shouldn't be allowed to exist in the first place!"

The scalpel delicately resting in his hand, Nny went to work. The ease and precision of a practiced surgeon shadowed his movements, some unseen force guiding his tools. He was almost at peace in the midst of blood and screams, of torn flesh and rotting bodies. In this hellhole, he had complete control.

He was jolted out of his reverie by another scream, this one from shattered vocal chords. Scarlet flooded the floor, and his victim went limp. A sense of disappointment rose up. The man had died so soon. Next time, Johnny thought, he probably shouldn't cut that part of the brain stem right away.

" Where is Nny? I want to see him. "

The nurses ignored the annoyed chatter and concentrated on taking another blood sample. The girl strapped to the bed let out a string of what seemed like curses and spat at the woman who tried to clean her arm. A needle went in, and a small amount of scarlet traveled up a tiny tube and into a plastic jar.

" Are you listening to me, you god-awful bitches! GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF THIS BED AND LET ME SEE MY FATHER! " Annette suddenly wrenched her shoulder upward, breaking restraints and successfully dislocating the limb. " STOP STICKING NEEDLES IN ME! I'M PERFECTLY FINE! I'VE NEVER BEEN BETTER! JUST-LET-ME-GOOOOOOOO! "

"Feisty one, isn't she?" commented the old nurse cheerfully to a new intern. "Okay, girls, let's get her arm set right. One, two, THREE!"

Four nurses jumped on Annette while two more...relocated her shoulder. Amidst screaming, cussing, and spitting, the team dove for the door, none of them wanting to stick around for the aftermath.

A tall boy slipped into the room, accompanied by a much shorter girl and another female with bright red hair. A dark-haired woman and one with dark skin and cornrows followed, shutting the door and locking it.

"How's our little Frenchie?" asked Kayako, draping her tiny frame over a chair.

"Yeah, Annie, how're you doing?" added Ben.

"What happened?" was Devi's contribution.

"How's your spleen?" Tenna piped up.

"Calm down, guys, let her talk." Wolfgang gave a steely glance at the others before turning to Annette. "Now go ahead. We're listening."

" I'm fine, thank you. And I got cut. Badly. With a knife. "

"Shit," breathed Ben once she'd sorted out the French. "How'd it happen?"

"I can bet you anything Nny did it," growled Devi.

" No! Well-not intentionally. He didn't mean to. I startled him. He was having a panic attack and I scared him. It's my fault. But I'm fine. Where is Nny? I want to see him. "

"Annie, getting slashed with a knife is NOT something to shrug off. That guy is unbalanced." Ben stared directly at her. "Maybe you should think about moving out."

" I WILL NOT LEAVE! " Annette's eyes glowed violet. " You cannot make me leave! No one ever bothers to help him! What will happen if I'm not there to- "

"Annie, calm down." Wolfgang gingerly put a hand on her shoulder. "We aren't trying to make you leave. We're just worried about you."

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Devi. "I mean, from what we heard, you nearly DIED."

" I'm fine. "

"Give the chick a break, guys. She's getting all skittish again. Leave her alone." Kayako smiled and stretched. "Let's talk about something else, okay? I'm sure Annie would like that."

The subject turned to all things nice, to things less painful. Music and talk of concerts flitted through the air, and the sounds of three languages wove their way out of the room and into the hall. Laughter and excited chatter gave the lights an extra few watts of energy. Annie was at peace amidst the noise and the warmth and the friendly eyes of those who had become her family.

Suddenly, a harsh voice shouted something from behind the door. Apparently the nurses had returned for some new and horrible test. Devi let them in, taking the brunt of the reprimands. The shock of seeing five people in the room who were quite obviously not cleared for entry-Kayako was wearing many sharp and potentially lethal objects openly, and Wolfgang just had that homicidal look about him-caused the old nurse to launch into a screaming tirade that lasted for what seemed like hours. The five were forced to leave-though they opted for the window-and Annie was alone with the nurses once more.

"My goodness, child, who on Earth were those people?" gasped the woman.

"Mes amis," was the stony reply.

There was a knock at the door. Apparently whomever was outside hadn't seen the doorbell. Johnny mumbled a curse and ambled to the door, all-too aware of how much...er, how much "stuff" had accumulated on the floor. Hopefully he wouldn't have to kill another police officer today.

"Nny? Nny, let me in!"

Johnny immediately threw the door open. Devi stood shivering at the threshold, looking pissed as hell. He stepped aside, and she dodged in, looking horrified at the carnage in the living room.

"You are sick, Johnny," she croaked, hugging herself and standing in one of the few spots not covered in half-dried blood. "How could you try to kill her? She's a KID. And she won't hear a bad word about you. That gullible bitch goes into hysterics if anybody tries to make her think about not going back here. How could you do that to her?"

"I didn't mean to-"

"Oh, FUCK THAT. You didn't mean to! Well you said you didn't 'mean to' try skewering me on the end of a knife, didn't you? I'm not buying it. You're sick, Johnny. You need help. Badly."

"So why exactly did you come here? To scream at me about a mistake I made in the past?" Nny adopted Devi's pose, but he leaned against a wall, not really caring how clean it was.

"I came here to tell you that you'd better not pull anything like that again. Or I WILL tear out your throat and watch you suffocate in the blood."

"Violent. I'm really sorry Devi. I honestly didn't mean to hurt her. I was...not well. She frightened me. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to make it go away. I'm really sorry." Nny stared off into space, eyes unfocused.

"You'd better be." Devi turned to leave. "And by the way, Nny, clean up the house. It'd be mean to make Annie get rid of all the corpses when she comes home."

The door slammed shut, and Nny was alone again. Not knowing what else to do, he dug out a mop and set to work. Devi was right. It would be cruel to make Annie get rid of the blood and bodies after being in the hospital for weeks on end.

"Time to go, hon," called the old nurse late one morning. She breezed into the room, holding a bundle of clothing from the lost and found. "Here, put these-"

The bed was empty. No lights had been turned on. A dripping IV trailed on the floor, and everything that belonged to the patient was gone. The little bitch had decided to check out herself.

"Oh, good Lord," muttered the nurse, dropping the clothes. "I swear, I am SO happy she got her skinny white ass out of here. World of trouble, that girl."

Meanwhile, a skinny teenager in a kimono was walking backwards down the road, thumb out, a blanket and two dolls on her back. Motorists stared openly, but none stopped to pick up the obviously insane hitchhiker. Half an hour and a few miles later, no luck.

Then a large, multicolored van sputtered to a stop in front of her. The side door opened, and a thin cloud of smoke trailed out. There were several women and men with long hair and odd clothing inside. One, a very tall, emaciated-looking woman, smiled and beckoned her in.

"How's it hangin, child?" she drawled easily, taking in Annette's foreign dress. "You looking for enlightenment or something?"

"No, I'm just trying to get home."

"Where you headed? We can afford ta go a few miles outta the way."

The driver, a man in a fringed vest and faded jeans, turned to look at her. His rose-tinted glasses obscured his eyes, but Annette wasn't at all uneasy. She smiled and struggled to wrap her tongue around the English syllables as she answered.

"Just into town. Ever heard of the House of Heaven?"

"Man, whaddaya think? Course we heard of it. That place has MAJOR bad karma. You live there?"

"Near it. But you can drop me off there. Thank you all; I appreciate the ride. It's very cold."

"Yeah, chica, but cold don't stop an earth child, does it?" the tall woman grinned and reclined back against the side of the van.

"Um, no I suppose not. I'm, er, going to see my father. How about you?"

"That's beautiful, man. We're out to search for answers. Answers and love. Love makes the world go round, man." The van's stoner occupants broke out into song, and Annette soon felt rather uncomfortable.

"Join in, little sister," laughed a tiny woman with hair almost as long as she was tall. "It doesn't matter if you know the words. We should all just learn to sing in harmony, man."

"That's lovely, but I believe I'll just be content to listen to your beautiful music. Er, pardon me, sir, but where exactly did you pull out that guitar from?"

The man whom the question was directed at, the driver, handed the guitar to the tiny woman next to him. He grinned and said something that Annette didn't understand. She asked him to repeat it, but it was no clearer the second time around.

"When you need something, the great Mother provides all, man. She takes care of her true children, little sister."

Finally, the van pulled up to house number 777. Annette thanked the strange people again for the ride and disembarked, but all four people followed her.

"Um, really, there's no need to come with me the rest of the way," murmured Annette nervously.

"No way, little sister. We take care of our own, right? Which way to your pad?" The tall woman looked up and down the street, eyes unfocused.

Thank the higher power that Nny chose that moment to leave the house. His expression went from shock to anger to happiness to cool indifference in less time than it takes to blink, and he abruptly changed course. Quietly, he strode up to Annette, wondering why she was with a group of stoner hippies.

"Nny!" cried Annette, hurling herself at him and enveloping her father's slim figure in a hug. "I checked myself out of the hospital this morning. These strange people were nice enough to give me a ride I'm so happy to see you!"

Johnny cringed and allowed himself to return the hug for a moment before breaking free. Annette's grin was wider than he'd ever seen it, but the expressions on the faces of the people behind her had shifted to confusion. It wasn't too dramatic of a change.

"Uh, sister, this is your paternal unit?" asked the tall woman, blinking slowly.

"Yes, well, he's nice enough once you get to know him..." Annette's smile faltered slightly. "Er, Nny, meet...these nice strange people. Nice strange people, meet Nny."

"Nice to meet you," murmured Nny, bowing low. "I'd advise you to leave shortly. I'm not in the mood to entertain."

"Father, be nice. Let's at least invite them inside for tea."

The stoners' expressions simultaneously jolted to terror, and they quickly jumped back into their van.

"Here's our Email, little sister!" called the tall woman, handing her a slip of paper before the van took off. Annette read out loud, trying not to laugh. "Those people are strange."

"Let's go see a movie, Annie." Johnny started off toward the theater district. "I was just on my way to the indie theater on 42nd."

"Could I change first? This kimono isn't exactly fit for the weather."

"Oh. Of course. But make it fast. I don't want to get caught in the dinner rush."

Annette smiled and dodged into the house. She was pleasantly surprised to find it almost spotless. Perhaps Nny could manage well enough on his own after all. Then she saw the kitchen, and she decided that she'd better stick around.

Minutes later, Annie appeared in a trench coat and a long black dress. She smiled at Nny and sprinted off, Nny following close behind.

"Last one there pays for Brainfreezies after the movie!" she called.

Author's note: Here we are again, visiting the world of Nny and Annette. I'm not entirely sure how many more of these I'll do. It depends, I suppose, on when exactly I get bored with them. Hope you enjoyed this one, and sorry to anyone who didn't. Please drop a review and let me know what you thought of it. Pleasant something, people.

-Raven, your Friendly Neptunian Pyro


	9. Annette's Lesson

11-1-05

They walked into the taco place like any normal night. The sky glowed velvet blue in the light of millions of stars. Tonight, the sky drowned out the city lights and shone out in all its nocturnal glory.

Linoleum floors squeaked underfoot, sticking to the pair's shoes, struggling to keep them rooted to the spot. Fluorescent lights bleached what little color was left out of their skin. The elder, a tall, emaciated man with dark hair, grimaced at the sight of unwashed tables and grubby patrons. The younger, a teenaged girl, also dark-haired, gave his hand a sympathetic squeeze and made her way to the front counter.

"Two tacos and two medium soft drinks, please," she chirped when her turn came.

"What KIND of taco, idiot?" grunted the kid behind the register.

"Regular tacos. Hard shell for both, please. How much does it come to?"

"Four bucks even."

She handed over the money and skirted a group of people to stand at the end of the counter. In a few minutes, a white-hot tray and two tacos slid over to her. Two drink cups clattered after, and she just barely caught them before they hit the disgusting floor.

"Food's here," she called cheerily. "Let's go find a place to sit, Nny."

Nny and the girl made their way to the back of the room, settling into a booth in the corner. They fetched their drinks, then sat down to eat their meals in silence.

A group of unruly teenagers crashed into the booth in front of them. Their looks of open scorn set Nny on edge, but his companion's disapproving look made him restrain himself. For the moment, anyway.

"What the hell kinda wacky freak are you, man?" asked one teenager.

Nny bristled. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. Is your daughter there taken? She's a pretty little bitch."

"Well, after she washes that dirt off her face," sneered one of the boy's companions.

"Yo, those Goths are some wacky shit, man," slurred another.

Nny clutched a spork tightly, rising.

"Nny, sit down," hissed his companion.

"Annette, those pricks don't have any right to-"

"I'll take care of it."

Annette smiled and turned around. "Cool it, jackasses," she snorted. "Just because you're all inbred pricks, it doesn't give you license to point out other's differences. Go play your infantile games somewhere else before you make me gag."

The boys stared at her, open-mouthed, for a long time. Then, miraculously, they stood and left. A wallet and an ipod were left behind, which Annette quickly snapped up.

"Ben and the others taught me loads of new words to use against the ignorant pricks!" she announced brightly to a bewildered Nny.

"But you didn't even have to rip their eyes out…" was all he could manage.

"Mon pere, sometimes the best injury is a psychological one," replied Annette. "Now let's go see a movie. I heard there's a new horror flick playing at the Indie movie house."

Nny thought for a moment, then stood and followed his daughter out the door. The patrons of the taco place never knew how close they'd come to death that night.

Perhaps it's for the best.


End file.
